It seems there's been some renewed interest in the subject of Block C LTE "no locking" provisions after news that the Motorola RAZR will come equipped with a locked bootloader per Verizon's request. About four months ago, I published an article on this very topic. To summarize: Verizon can basically do almost anything it wants with handsets on its network in the name of reasonable network management - subject to a few limitations and caveats.

HTC acknowledged the vulnerability in some of its devices that Android Police together with Trevor Eckhart posted Saturday night. The privilege escalation vulnerability currently allows a potentially malicious app that uses only the INTERNET permission to connect to HTC's HtcLoggers service and get access to data far exceeding its access rights. This data includes call history, the list of user accounts, including email addresses, SMS data, system logs, GPS data, and more.

I am quite speechless right now. Justin Case and I have spent all day together with Trevor Eckhart (you may remember him as TrevE of DamageControl and Virus ROMs) looking into Trev's findings deep inside HTC's latest software installed on such phones as EVO 3D, EVO 4G, Thunderbolt, and others.

These results are not pretty. In fact, they expose such ridiculously frivolous doings, which HTC has no one else to blame but itself, that the data-leaking Skype vulnerability Justin found earlier this year pales in comparison.

Update: In a not-so-unexpected (read: expected) twist, Big Red has pulled the update for the TBolt, so if you haven't gotten it yet, now you know why. There isn't much info as to when it will start rolling out again, but we'll let you know when we find something out.

The wait is finally over - Thunderbolt users can now officially pull the latest update for their devices, Android Gingerbread 2.3.4, fresh from the oven.

If you're having difficulty controlling your desire to get Gingerbread on your HTC Thunderbolt right now, you're not alone. But, if you've been waiting for the official release, you've probably grown very impatient by this point. It appears the wait is nearing an end, as Verizon's support site now contains a page for the Thunderbolt's long-overdue bump to Android 2.3.4. Here are the changes they've listed:

We couldn't. So here you go -- Gingerbread Build 2.11.605.3 for the HTC ThunderBolt. The installation process is basically identical to the previous leak, so if you've already flashed that, then this should be a breeze.

When I switched from AT&T from Verizon and swapped my aging, battered, and bruised Nexus One for a DROID BIONIC, the possibility of buyer’s remorse was not on my mind. I was coming from AT&T - America’s single least reliable network in terms of dropped calls. So, I thought the last thing I’d end up doing was wishing I was back there. And now, at least part of me does.

If you own a Verizon 4G LTE handset, you’ve probably experienced an issue exactly or approximately like this one: You put your phone in your pocket or let it sit overnight, take it out some time later or the next morning, and there’s no data connection.

At the beginning of the month, HTC announced that it would be bringing Gingerbread to the Droid Incredible and ThunderBolt. While that promised has been fulfilled for the former, there's been nary a word of the status of the update for the latter. Until now.

Thanks to our anonymous tipster known only as Pig Benis, we have an official Gingerbread RUU hot of the presses for the HTC ThunderBolt.

Our tipster isn't positive if this is the final build or not, but considering it's so close to the end of the month, it is very likely.

Last night, I sent out a message from our social accounts praising the Epic 4G Touch's boot times. They amazed me as soon as I turned this Galaxy S II Sprint variant for the first time last Friday and haven't ceased to amaze me ever since. I have loaded up all the same apps and then some compared to any of my other phones, and still - the Epic 4G Touch blazes by the competition like no other device I've seen.

RadioShack seems awfully pleased with its new partnership with Verizon, and to express its sentiment it is giving a $100 instant rebate for every Verizon smartphone activated with a 2-year contract. Those averse to arduous rebate policies (i.e. mailing in the form) will be pleased to know that the entire process of activation and rebate approval will be taken care of by an "awesome" RadioShack associate on the spot. The selected handsets include the HTC Thunderbolt, the Samsung Droid Charge, the Motorola Droid X2 and Droid Bionic.